Gas supply
Decision on 4-hour gas rationing in industries withdrawn
The government has withdrawn its decision to suspend gas supply to industries for four hours every day.
State-owned Petrobangla in a press release on Thursday announced the new decision saying that it will come into effect from April 22 (Friday).
Also read: Gas supply to industries to remain off for 4 hrs daily from Tuesday
Earlier on April 11 the Petrobangla said that the gas supply will remain suspended for four hours from 5 to 9 pm every day for 15 days from April 12.
Sources said the new decision came at the request of the industry owners.
Earlier, the Petrobangla had instructed all the CNG refueling stations to keep those closed for six hours from 5 to 11 pm every day during the Holy Ramadan to facilitate gas supply to household consumers and power plants.
Also read: Titas asked to conduct study on gas bill discrepancies
Gas supply to industries to remain off for 4 hrs daily from Tuesday
Gas supply to industries will remain suspended for four hours from 5 to 9 pm every day for 15 days from Tuesday.
State-owned Petrobangla issued this directive on Monday saying that all industries are requested to abide by the order on the occasion of Holy Ramadan.
Regretting for the temporary inconvenience, the Petrobangla said that the vigilance teams of the gas distribution companies will monitor the issue.
Also read: Gas crisis: 2,950 MMCFD LNG-carrying cargo vessel arrive at Ctg port
Earlier, the Petrobangla had instructed all the CNG refueling stations to keep those closed for six hours from 5 to 11 pm every day during the Holy Ramadan to facilitate gas supply to household consumers and power plants.
Such directives came against the backdrop of the nagging gas crisis as consumers in many areas have been complaining that they are not getting gas supply during Ramadan for their cooking.
In the meantime, the gas supply experienced a drastic fall on April 3, on the very first day of Ramadan fallowing a technical fault at the Bibiyana gas field, the largest gas field in the country.
Also read: Gas crisis likely to end as Bibiyana resumes full production
After 5 days, the fault was repaired and Bibiyana resumed full production on April 7, but still consumers in many areas in and outside the capital Dhaka are alleging that they are suffering from gas crisis.
The situation forced Petrobangla to issue new order to keep the gas supply suspended for four hours a day to the industries for next 15 days.
Gas crisis persists as Bibiyana field yet to resume full production
Gas crisis persisted across the country for the second day Monday as Bibiyana gas field failed resume full production.
The consumers in many areas in the city and elsewhere complained they are not getting gas which forced them to use an alternative oven to cook their meals in the holy Ramadan.
The country’s gas production drastically fell by about 450 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) on Sunday, the very first day of Ramadan, following a technical fault developed in the Bibiyana gas field.
Officials said the gas field process system noticed that sand was coming out from two production wells which forced the authorities concerned to halt the production of the wells.
The incident had a big impact on the overall gas production as many areas experienced disruptions following the fall in the pressure of gas supply as an outcome of the fault.
Also read: Consumers experiencing shortage, low pressure in gas supply
The major impact was on the power generation as the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had to shut down a good number of power plants immediately which led to load shedding at different districts across the country.
Both the Chevron and Petrobangla officials were trying to fix the problems as early as possible. But no significant progress was made yet.
However, Chevron Bangladesh in a statement said that it is making progress in returning the Bibiyana Gas Plant to full capacity, with production at one of the two process trains affected at the plant and one well in the field resuming Monday.
The plant is running at a reduced rate after suspension of operations at two of its two trains and six production wells in the field on April 3 following the discovery of some production anomalies.
Also read: Illegal gas connections still in system despite repeated moves: Titas MD
Safety of workers, nearby communities and protection of the environment are top priorities for teams working to bring the second train and all remaining wells back online. The cause of the unplanned shutdown will be investigated, it added.
Official sources said the country’s gas production was recorded at 2524.4 MMCFD of which Bibiyana was producing 886.9 MMCFD on April 3 while its production capacity is 1200 MMCFD.
The BPDB data shows that the operation of over 20 power plants, having a generation capacity of 2069 MW remained closed for gas shortage.
Meanwhile, state-owned Petrobangla in a statement said that gas shortage may occur in different parts of the country due to the reduced supply of gas for emergency maintenance work of Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field.
Regretting the people’s temporary inconvenience from the gas shortage, Petrobangla hoped that the gas supply situation would be normalized as soon as possible by completing the maintenance and repair work.
Meanwhile, consumers in many areas in the city including Mohammadpur, Shekhertek, Rayerbazar, Dhanmondi, Shankar, Kanthalbagan, Mudhubazar, Kalabagan, Rampura, Wari, Maghbazar, Arambagh, Fakirapul, Banasree, Gopibagh, Mirpur, and Iskatan complained that they are not getting gas for cooking their meals.
The low pressure in gas supply also put the CNG-run motor vehicles in problem as the vehicles had to be waiting in long queues for refuelling when the government had rescheduled the operation time of the filling stations.
As per the latest order, the CNG stations must be kept closed for 6 hours a day from 5 pm to 11 pm during the holy Ramadan to facilitate gas supply to household consumers and power plants.
Consumers experiencing shortage, low pressure in gas supply
Consumers in different areas have been experiencing shortage or low pressure in gas supply following a technical fault in supply process of the gas from Bibiyana field in Sylhet.According to a Chevron statement, the operator of the Bibiyana gas field, two process trains in Bibiyana Gas Plant are down due to maintenance since 1.15 am on Sunday which has resulted in lower production of gas from the field.
Read: Illegal gas connections still in system despite repeated moves: Titas MD“Our field operations team is working to bring the trains back online. At this moment we are unable to inform about the time required to resume full production from the field," said Chevron Bangladesh.Meanwhile, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in a press release said that different areas of the country may experience low pressure in gas supply due to maintenance works at the Bibiyana gas field.“Experienced engineers are working to fix the problem. It is expected that the situation will become normal within shortest possible time”, said the release of the ministry signed by its public relation officer.The ministry regrets for the temporary inconveniences of the consumers, it added.Official sources said that senior officials of the Petrobangla rushed to the Bibiyana gas process area to supervise the repair works of the gas field.
Read: Proposed gas price hike: Petrobangla under fire at public hearingThey, however, failed to give any indication as to when the problem might be solved.Consumers at different areas in the city and elsewhere alleged that they have been experiencing shortage in supply.“We could not use our gas oven for cooking as there is no gas in pipeline," said a consumer in the city’s Bashundhara area.Similar allegation were received from consumers in Mogbazar, Malibagh, Mirpur and some other areas in the city.
Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply today
Gas supply will remain suspended for four hours in different areas of the capital from 2pm to 6pm on Tuesday.
Also read:BERC to hold public hearing on March 21-24 over gas tariff hike
The areas are Hatirpul, Circular Road, Free School Street, Green Road, Kathalbagan, East Rajabazar, West Rajabazar, Shukrabad, and Indira Road, said Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company on Monday.
Also, the consumers in the nearby areas will experience low pressure in supply due to works on gas pipeline replacement, it added.
Also read: Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply Wednesday
Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply Wednesday
Gas supply will remain suspended for 16 hours from 8 am to 12 pm on Wednesday at different areas in the south-eastern part of the capital.
The areas are Manik Nagar, Dhalpur, Gopibagh, RK Mission Road, Abhaynagar Lane, KM Das Lane, Swamibagh, Hatkhola Road, Dayaganj, Tikatuli, Wari, Nawabpur, Balda Garden, Banagram, North Kamalapur, South Kamalapur, and Jasim Uddin Road, said Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company.
Read: Gas supply suspended in B’Baria as pipeline gets damaged
The distribution company said that the consumers in the adjoining areas may experience low pressure in their gas supply as well.
Titas Gas mentioned that the gas supply in these areas will remain suspended to carry out a tie-in works in the gas pipelines of areas to facilitate the rail tracks construction under the Padma Bridge project.
Gas supply suspended in B’Baria as pipeline gets damaged
Gas supply across Brahmanbaria district was suspended from Sunday noon after a pipeline was damaged during construction work.
The officials said the pipeline with 60 PSI capacity was damaged and gas started gushing out when an excavator machine hit it during the construction work of Ashuganj-Akhaura four lane highway.
Read: Consumers to experience low pressure in gas supply in Dhaka, Mymensingh
Immediately after the incident gas supply was shut across the district said, a Deputy General Manager of Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited.
Gas supply to some 24, 000 residential and commercial customers thus remained suspended, he said.
Gas supply to remain suspended in some Dhaka areas Monday
Gas supply will remain suspended for eight hours in several areas of Dhaka city from 10pm Monday to 6am Tuesday for pipeline relocation to facilitate the implementation of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project.
Supply to all residential, commercial, industrial users and CNG stations in Gulshan, Mohakhali, Banani and Tejgaon Industrial Area, will remain cut off, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company said in a media statement.
Also read: Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply Saturday
The gas pressure may remain low in the vicinity during the period, it added.
Erratic gas supply hits hard residents at Demra, neighbouring areas
When Taslima Keya rented a flat in Demra a few months ago she thought she struck a good deal as the house had gas connection.
It did not take long for her to realize that she made a mistake.
“True we have the gas connection, but most time of the day the line remains dry,” said Keya, a homemaker.
Also read: Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply Saturday
At Keya’s flat the natural fuel, supplied by Titas Gas, is available only after 1:30 pm which disrupts cooking her breakfast and lunch. Also, she faces trouble in preparing the dinner as the gas pressure goes down in the evening.
“This on-again off-again supply of gas has made our living in this area difficult,” said Keya, who is thinking of moving to a new location. The erratic supply of the cooking fuel has severely affected her daily routine. “What we are doing now is cooking all day’s meals at one go when the supply is available,” she said.
Another housewife Ayesha Islam Jharna, who lives in an adjoining area of Demra, has even a grimmer story to tell.
Read HC rules on govt decision to not provide new household gas connections
Some areas in Dhaka to see disruption in gas supply Saturday
Gas supply will remain suspended in different areas of the national capital for 10 hours from 9 am to 7 pm on Saturday.
According to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, the areas include Boro Moghbazar, Taltala Gali, Jahabox Lane, Gabtala, Wahab Road, Nayatola, Chairman Gali, Modhubagh and their adjoining areas.
READ: Gas supply to remain suspended in parts of Narayanganj
The consumers of the areas will either have no gas supply or experience low pressure in supply due to works on gas pipeline relocation, said Titas Gas.
READ: Consumers may experience disruption in gas supply until June 16